Brazenmom

My 18-month-old daughter has fallen in love with a wooden flower. Last night, as I was reading Amelia a bedtime story, she sat happily in my lap, cradling her beloved orange tulip as she listened to the tale.

The first thing Amelia does when she wakes up in the morning is hunt for her flower. When Flower is unearthed from the rubble under which it is frequently buried, Amelia brings Flower to me for a quick sniff. Whilst extremely proud that my daughter understands that flowers smell pretty, sniffing a wooden flower again and again , other than utterly bizarre, becomes a tad… tedious. Read the rest of this entry »

A children’s book for grown-ups

Let’s not kid; sleep deprivation is hellish. One of the sacrifices demanded by parenthood is the pleasure of a good night’s sleep. Whether it’s midnight feedings, distressed cries or the worry of late night escapades, our children plan on keeping us awake for a good 18 years, and probably long after.

With this in mind, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach has written a foul-mouthed, tongue-in-cheek bedtime book for parents who live in the real world. Go the Fuck to Sleep tells it like it is; that a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Read the rest of this entry »

My little girl enjoys chewing on toothpaste tubes. I indulge her fetish as long as she keeps the lid on – a mouthful of white paste, although delicious to a child (I used to eat toothpaste back in the day) and probably good for the teeth, can’t be good for the tummy.

However, today I found Amelia dunking her precious tube into the toilet bowl. Luckily we are healthy flushers. But still… I guess she may as well ingest toothpaste if pee and poo are par for the culinary course of taste intrigue.

Keeping the seat down is no longer a sufficient deterrent. My little lovely can pry it open with the force of toddler on a mission. Read the rest of this entry »

When a young woman reaches a certain age, she begins to feel the pressure as her biological clock ticks louder and faster. Often, though, this pressure is brought on by well-meaning outsiders asking, “When are you going to get a boyfriend?”

Then, “When are you going to get married?”

Followed by, “When are you going to have a baby?”

And, “When are you going to have another baby?”

There is barely enough time to catch your breath between questions. Angelique was not even a day old when the nurses started making comments like, “See you in a year’s time for the next one.” I wish I could have made some snarky retort but, alas, I was still recovering from the anaesthetic and trying to process the fact that my baby was finally in my arms. (Next time, I will think of a few comments before the birth so I can be prepared.) Read the rest of this entry »

No one tells you that this whole learning to walk thing is going to be murder on your back. My daughter has reached the age where crawling is no longer enough of a challenge and cruising along the furniture provides a limited experience. So I now spend a large part of each day hunched over, holding Angelique’s hands as she explores our flat.

We’ve chosen not to buy a walking ring; partly because there’s really no space for it here, but also because I read one too many articles about possible damage to little feet. Perhaps I’m also against walking rings as a result of my own bad experience as a baby. Apparently, like Angelique, I imagined myself as a mini-stuntwoman. So I raced headfirst for a step. No prizes for guessing what happened next. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve had so many parents ask me where to start with potty training. First of all let’s change those words to toilet training because the easiest and quickest way to toilet train your child is to skip the potty step. I’m just not a fan of the potty, it’s a bit gross and also it isn’t the end goal for your child – once they have mastered the potty, they have to start all over again.

Toilet training can take a matter of days if you start at the right time. A child needs to know that something is happening down there. This can sometimes be encouraged by putting underwear on your child, and therefore when they do their business they will feel it. If your child is showing an awareness while still in nappies they may hide when they feel the urge or they may start to walk funny or even look down. Read the rest of this entry »